What if you need to open a PSD file instead of Photoshop program you just do not have it installed? Let's look at seven ways to do this.
The problem is that the PSD format is not open, as is the case with PNG, JPG or BMP. It was developed by Adobe as an editing project graphic image... By opening such a file, you can always continue editing from where you left off earlier. However, if you do not want to pay for a subscription to Adobe applications, then we have to look for an alternative. In functionality free analogues will be noticeably inferior to the monster Photoshop, moreover, some will only be able to open PSD file to view. However, this is often enough.
Gimp
First free app The one worth trying to open a PSD file is GIMP. And not only because the rich functionality of this graphics editor is close to Photoshop and even can, but rather due to its availability on all platforms, be it Windows, Mac or Linux. Once you familiarize yourself with the application, you can then use it on other devices.
No additional plugins or extensions are required to open a PSD file in the GIMP application. Just use the "File - Open" menu, select the PSD file and click "Open".
The project will open not just as a static picture. The available layers will be displayed, on which you can perform certain operations. However, it should be remembered that if you make changes and then save the file, in the future it may have problems opening in native Photoshop. So you can work with the file, but you shouldn't make edits in this way for a designer who uses software from Adobe.
The free graphics editor Gimp, if desired, can be very similar to Photoshop and even inherit its hotcases.
Paint.NET
Much more advanced graphics editor than standard Microsoft Paint, and at the same time not as frightening with an abundance of functionality as GIMP or Photoshop. Simple and functional.
However, to open PSD files for the Paint.NET application, you need to install a special plugin. Download the plugin content, open the archive and copy the PhotoShop.dll library to the directory with the installed editor (most often it is C: / Program Files / paint.net), and more specifically to the FileTypes subdirectory. After that, launch the application itself.
If you've done everything correctly, then the PSD files should open smoothly in Paint.NET. Like GIMP, the layers of the project will be displayed, however Paint.NET does not support all the features of Photoshop, so some layers may not be available or even give errors when opening the file.
Photopea Online Editor
If you have not heard about Photopea before, then the project will be a pleasant discovery for you. Not the most famous online editor, of course, is inferior in functionality to Photoshop and GIMP, but it is difficult to expect anything similar from browser editors. Nevertheless, Photopea is really worthy of attention.
When you open the website of an online editor, it is not even immediately believed that this is not separate application... There is a familiar menu through which you can open files from your computer. Therefore, press "File - Open" and specify the path to the PSD file.
Photopea works successfully with individual layers, which is very cool for an online editor. Thus, it becomes possible to edit PSD files wherever you are - from any computer.
XnView
The free picture organizer allows you to view and organize your pictures in various ways. It can also be used for basic editing - applying filters, effects, changing the position of the picture, and so on.
XnView is capable of handling over 500 formats and exporting to 70 different formats... Therefore, the application will be useful not only for viewing images, but also for converting them.
During installation, the application will offer three options - minimal, standard and advanced. At the same time, the minimum is enough to open PSD files, so there is no need to clutter up the disk with the extended version. And yes - no additional extensions and you don't need to install plugins either.
After buying a new computer or laptop, the question invariably arises of which programs to install on it in the first place.
IrfanView
Another image browser that also works as a converter. IrfanView does not support as many formats as XnView, but it does work with the most common ones. Isn't that what we wanted?
IrfanView easily opens PSD files. Yes, he cannot edit them, but converting to another format is easy.
It is convenient to use this application as your default photo browser. Most likely, he will never disappoint you, unlike standard application Windows. IrfanView does not take up much space and is not resource intensive.
Google drive
A bit weird to use cloud service from Google as a file browser, however it is quite capable of opening a wide variety of formats. In particular, you can view the content of the PSD file uploaded to the online Disk.
Go2Convert
The latter method will not allow you to open, let alone edit a PSD file, but it can easily convert this format to the more common. If you just need a PNG or JPG format as output, then you do not need to install any application.
Just visit the Go2Convert website, upload your PSD project to it and select the format in which you would like to get the image. You can also resize it and give it additional compression. Simple and straightforward. Nothing extra.
Either open already finished photos for their subsequent processing. This article will focus on the latter case, or rather on its foundation, from which everything begins - how to open a photo in photoshop.
To start processing a photo, you first need to open it, that is, load the image into the area, after which it will be ready for editing. There are many ways to do this. Let's consider all of them.
Method 1
First, run the program. After it loads, execute the menu command File - Open or press Ctrl + O. The "Open" dialog box will appear, in which you need to specify the path to the desired photo.
Method 2
Regardless of whether you have Photoshop running or not, any graphic file on a computer can be opened in Photoshop. To do this, click on it right click mouse, in the menu that appears, select the command To open with - Adobe photoshop .
It may be that Photoshop will not be on this list. Then click on the command Select a program ... A window will appear Program selection, in which once again see if Photoshop is among the recommended ones.
If not, then click on the arrow (1) Other programs and search this list.
If it is not there, then you will have to specify the path to Photoshop manually. To do this, click Overview(2) and find the launch shortcut for Photoshop in the system folders where the program is installed. Default system folders lie at this address: C: \ Program Files \ Adobe \ Adobe Photoshop CS5.
Method 3
Any picture can be opened by the usual drag and drop file into the workspace. That is, you need Photoshop to be running, then open the folder with the file on your computer, place the folder window on top of the program (having previously reduced its size), and then drag the file with a slight movement of the mouse.
4 Method
Photoshop developers have made their own file browser - Adobe bridge... This additional module is always installed with Photoshop. In it, the user can organize their photos, view them and open them for editing.
Adobe Bridge is represented as a separate program and palettes with a stripped down number of functions. But both of them will easily open any photo. I will not describe in detail how to do this, since it has long been written in my article -. I also told separately how to use the palette. .
5 Method
Photoshop has a command that allows you to open a photo and immediately add it to another previously opened one. To do this, run the menu command File - Place... The image will open as a smart object, with handles that allow you to immediately adjust the size and tilt.
6 Method
Menu command File - Recent Documents will show you the last 10 photos that you opened in Photoshop. There are times when such a command is really needed. For example, you accidentally closed a picture, but in order not to look for it again, find it here.
If you spot an error in the text, select it and press Ctrl + Enter. Thanks!
It happens that you look at a photo and mentally imagine what can be corrected in it. Crop, remove unnecessary shade, remove unnecessary subject from the background, etc. But before proceeding with any actions, our photo must be opened. But ? In this tutorial, we'll look at the most common ways to open a document in photoshop.
Ways to open images in Photoshop
There are many ways. Some lie on the surface and are accessible even to a beginner. Others are not so obvious, but they are also not very difficult. Let's consider them all in order.
We use the right mouse button
Probably the most obvious way. We go into the folder where our photo is. Right-click on the file.
We find the line "open with" and select Photoshop (arrow number 1). If this program is not in the list, then click "select another application" (arrow number 2). A more expanded list of programs will appear. If it fails again, find Photoshop manually. If nothing was changed during installation, then by default the path is: C: \ Program Files \ Adobe \ Adobe Photoshop.Open from the program
The second way is to open the file from the program itself. Launch Photoshop. Main Menu → File → Open.
In the window that appears, we find the necessary photo. If you know the file format, then you can select the appropriate one from the drop-down list. This will reduce the number of files and therefore make it easier to find.
This Open window can be called in several ways:
- Above: Main Menu → File → Open.
- The shortcut keys Ctrl + O.
- Double click with the left mouse button on an empty space of the workspace.
The file to open does not have to be one at all. When opening, you can select several files (with Shift pressed if they go in a row, and with Ctrl otherwise), and they will open sequentially in different tabs or windows, depending on the settings.
From the clipboard
To open, you can use and standard set hot keys: Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. To do this, open the file in any viewer convenient for you. Copy (Ctrl + C). We go into Photoshop Main menu → File → New or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N. The size of the image copied to the clipboard will already be in the window that opens. The file name can be set now, or you can leave it as it is and call it later in the process of saving. If the file is planned to be printed in the future, then the resolution should be set to 300 pixels / inch, if for viewing on a monitor or for the Internet, then 72. If you do not know, then it is better to set 300. Despite the fact that the file will be "heavier" and take up more space is justified. Since you can always make a small one out of a large one, but on the contrary, there is no loss of quality. The rest of the values can be left as default Ok → Ctrl + V.
Drag the image to the program shortcut
The file can be simply dragged to the program shortcut on the desktop. If Photoshop is not already running, it will first load and then open the image. If the shortcut is on the taskbar, then on the selected file, hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the shortcut. We are waiting for Photoshop to open and, without releasing the button, drag the file to the free space of the working area. If this is not the case, then drag it to the palette. Otherwise, the image will open as a smart object.
Opening the image as a smart object
A little explanation is needed here. What is a Smart Object? In fact, these are containers where image files are located. All actions with smart objects affect only the container, without changing the file itself. As a result, you can undo actions without losing image quality. We'll take a closer look at smart objects in one of the following tutorials.
To open a photo as a smart object, go to: Main menu → File → Open as Smart Object. Find photo → Ok. If you need to open an image as a smart object already in open document, then Main Menu → File → Place Embedded. In the window that opens, select again desired file→ Ok. The photo is inserted into the resize frame. Select the required size and position → Enter (in order not to change the proportions during transformation, hold down Shift).
Through the discovery of recent documents
Another way to open an already opened photo is to go to the list of previously opened documents. File → Open Recent. Find the desired image in the drop-down list. Photoshop, like many other programs, maintains a list of documents that you open. The length of this list can be adjusted from 2 to 100 (by default there are 20). The setting can be done by following the following path: Main Menu → Editing → Preferences → File Handling. We set the desired value in the field "Length of the list of recent files" (Recent filelist contains).
Conclusion
The required file can also be opened through additional installed modules, such as Adobe Bridge. Beginning with Adobe versions Photoshop CC 2015, Bridge is no longer installed by default with the program itself. It needs to be installed separately. Since Bridge undoubtedly deserves a more detailed study, this module will be discussed in a separate lesson.
Now, I hope you don't have any more questions,. From the options discussed above, you can choose the most convenient one for yourself.
See you on the pages of the next lessons!
Best regards, Marina Ruble.
And a hint that may be useful not only for beginners.
Although, again, I will make a reservation that any person who has the skills to work in Photoshop does everything the way he is used to.
Remembering that my friends, readers of the site "Life in Bulgaria and Travels in France", expressed a desire to learn how to work in Photoshop from scratch, I thought for a long time where to start my lessons. After all, many already have this program, and, one way or another, are familiar with it. How to make it interesting for everyone?
Therefore, before I talk about opening photos, pictures, files in Photoshop, I want to ask you to write in the comments to the article what you would like to learn, maybe then it will be easier for me to create initial lessons on working in the cs5 program.
A little later, when the number of readers of the site increases, I will definitely conduct a survey to understand the level of training of my visitors.
I remind you that I work in Adobe program Photoshop CS5. And it doesn't matter what version is installed on your computer, I think that the basic concepts, functions, rules of operation are not much different.
And now about the hint lesson "How to open a photo in Photoshop?"
I'm sure there are several options for opening photos in Photoshop. I will talk about three methods that I use most often.
Method 1. Classic.
After that, you will see the selected photo on the working field of Photoshop.
In the same way, you can open several photos at once that are necessary for work by selecting them with the left mouse button, holding down the Ctrl key at the same time, and then open them in the program.
And then they will all be displayed in the tab bar.
Method 2.
Sometimes I also use this method.
To do this, you need to slightly change the interface, for which we move the mouse to the ORDER DOCUMENTS icon.
In the submenu that opens, search for FREE MOVE ALL WINDOWS and left-click.
And your pictures will be located in different windows that can be easily moved around the working area.
After that, double-click the left mouse button anywhere in the dark gray space of the working field, and you will open a folder with photos, pictures or files. If the folder is not the one you want opens, then I hope you can easily find the one you need. This is no longer Photoshop, but the knowledge of a computer user.
Select a new photo and open it.
Personally, after that, I return to my usual interface with a tab bar. To do this, go back to the ORDER DOCUMENTS icon and click on the first top icon.
Although many people prefer floating windows with files, this, as they say, is not for everybody. Once you get to know the Photoshop program, then you yourself will determine your priorities.
Method 3.
Go to the folder with the desired photo, right-click on it, in the window that opens, we find the line OPEN WITH HELP, and in the other left-click - Adobe Photoshop CS5.
If the Photoshop CS5 program is not yet open, then first it will be loaded, and then the desired photo or picture will open in the working field, if the program is open beforehand, you will see the file in the tab bar.
That's actually all that I wanted to tell you about today. Hope you find my tip helpful.
Hope to see in your comments your feedback on what you would like to learn. I wish you creative success and summer mood.